Fear and Loathing

[Matt]

What cards, when played, just make your playgroup howl like banshees?

Lately one guy has been showing up with Captain Sisay, and everyone freaks out and goes for the throat when he drops Privileged Position*. Mid- to late-game morphs tend to die on sight since there's at least 3 guys running the Pickles combo. We're also pretty down on Tooth and Nail.

For some reason everyone hated when I played Attrition, but they don't seem to care as much about Grave Pact. Vicious Shadows also gets huge groans but since the game usually ends the turn I play it, there's not much retaliation.


*Largely at my insistence

[Harlequin]

I was playing Arcum Dag combo (sorta a multiplayer-deathsentence to start with) in a 4-5 man game.  I forget exactly what happened, but I was able to plop down a Possessed Portal out of hand by sacing a bunch of permanents to Ironworks.  I had few things in play, and a few cards in hand.  No way to abuse portal on the board.  I basically was just looking to stablize the board a bit, and sac the portal before it came back around to my turn.... a more or less semetrical effect - basically nuke the weakest part of everyone's board, and draw maybe 1 more card than everyone else.. for 8 mana (and half my board).  

But yeah, needless to say, Possessed Portal threw everyone into a bloodlust and I was obbliterated as soon as it left play.  GG.

[BC]

Hokori, Dust Drinker and Winter Orb will buy you some serious ill will.  They are in the "makes the game unfun" category.  Blatant Thievery will also usually get everyone else at the table gunning for you.

[Anusien]

Spell Burst.

The guy who runs Obliterate usually dies on sight.

[Matt]

Spell Burst.

The guy who runs Obliterate usually dies on sight.

Spell Burst isn't so bad, it's the Seedborn Muse that worries me more.

[Harlequin]

But I think that's kinda the point... Seedbourn Muse -is- an amazing card in multiplayer.  Having the green muse gives you a gigantic leg up.  Even a card like Gravepact or Mind's Eye are amazingly powerful in multiplayer.  You land a Jitte - people need to take you (or it) off the board.  Its the semetrical cards that really shouldn't be causing too much fuss that inspire rage.  Possessed Portal, Fatespinner, Pox, even board sweepers; they are usually semetrical (unless they are being abused) and sometimes it boggles the mind why people get so bent out of shape over such cards.

[Matt]

Well I don't know what the deal is if your group hates board sweepers, but around here, the sweepers that remove lands are hugely hated, while the ones that "kill creatures but leave buildings standing" are accepted as general utility. Wrath? Perfectly cromulent white removal. Obliterate? I must end you. This is because if you reset the board, we can't finish a game before the store closes.   

Oh and Kaervek draws a loooot of hate, with good reason: the dude killed 3 of 6 people in my last game, single-handedly. Sadly, it was for my opponent, who Bribery-d my copy. :<

[Metman]

Magister Sphinx I think is the most unfair non banned card in the format.  It's stupid when you can deal 30 damage with a seven CC 5/5 flyer.  I've been told when playing it that it isn't a "gentlemen's card."

My play group is starting to despise Dream Halls too.  At first they were excited whenever I played because it is symmetric and their thinking is that their deck will use it as much as anybody's but when I follow it up with Cruel Ultimatum, Conflux, and All Sun's Dawn the moaning and eye rolling starts. 

[Anusien]

I attract a ton of attention everytime I play Survival of the Fittest.  And Kiki-Jiki tends to die pretty quickly.  But neither of these get me killed just because they're in the deck.

[SpencerForHire]

I would be willing to wager that Sorin will create similar attention for his instantaneous ability to do 30 damage, add to that the repeatability and you are going to gain the ire of your entire table.

[Apollyon]

Most of the hate comes for generals around here. Jhoira, Zur, Arcum, Erayo, Sharuum, Rofellos, Kraj, Momir Vig, etc.

Armageddeon effects are unpopular around here because everyone likes to keep their lands. Wrath effects are expected, but Armageddeon really takes the life out of a game. Same thing with Obliterate/Red Decree. It really slows down a game (unless it's a Jhoira deck).

Magister Sphinx is a pretty big whack for one player, but it's not necessarily a dire threat.

Seedborn Muse is amazing, I have no idea why more people around here don't run it.

Hokori, Dust Drinker and Winter Orb will buy you some serious ill will.  They are in the "makes the game unfun" category.  Blatant Thievery will also usually get everyone else at the table gunning for you.

Winter Orb, Rising Waters (enchantment Winter Orb that doesn't get hosed nearly as easily? Sign me up!), and Hokori all draw the hate, although Winter Orb can be necessary to slow down some decks enough to keep some games interesting. Especially whne you have one or two fast-midrange combo decks and a bunch of slower late-game decks.

Thievery is expected as a matter of course for a blue deck. While it is swingy, the stolen stuff rarely lasts more than a turn.

Planeswalkers tend to not last long. Too many random creatures floating around to really keep them in play for long.

[Matt]

Memnarch is starting to attract a lot of attention in my Sharuum deck... 

...but then, so is someone else's Oona deck. Oona + Opposition was not amusing in the slightest.

Nothing has been so hated as the Pickles lock, though. The standing rule is, whenever someone gets that going, they leave the game and everyone else continues playing without them.

[Black_Lotus83]

Sadly Necropotence is getting a lot of hate in my EDH group, they think it's too powerful for a black card to give advantage...

[Philatio]

I was playing Arcum Dag combo (sorta a multiplayer-deathsentence to start with) in a 4-5 man game.  I forget exactly what happened, but I was able to plop down a Possessed Portal out of hand by sacing a bunch of permanents to Ironworks.  I had few things in play, and a few cards in hand.  No way to abuse portal on the board.  I basically was just looking to stablize the board a bit, and sac the portal before it came back around to my turn.... a more or less semetrical effect - basically nuke the weakest part of everyone's board, and draw maybe 1 more card than everyone else.. for 8 mana (and half my board).  

But yeah, needless to say, Possessed Portal threw everyone into a bloodlust and I was obbliterated as soon as it left play.  GG.

I usually try to lock the game out with Savra or Sek'kuar using Possessed Portal and Life From the Loam.  That gets groans.

[BruiZar]

wow, you guys play with compainers The only thing that's not nice is infinite combos that can kill every player in one go.

Instead of trying to attract hate, we always try to make pacts with other players. You can do this by selling off a Swords to Plowshares to the highest bidder (i.e. will not attack you for 5 turns, or will). You don't win multiplayer matches without broken decks/combos by fighting against every person. Instead, you act as an 'armsdealer' watching your opponents kill eachother off on the sideline.

Here are some examples of my favorite plays:

Donate
A good way to get an ally/mercenary/bodyguard in multiplayer magic. Give him something in exchange for his removal you get to target. It someone is mana screwed, you could give him an undiscovered paradise. This way, you give him 1 Lotus Petal to unscrew him and cast something relevant, and you get back your land.

Maze of Ith
Help someone out by protecting him with Maze! Incidentally, I play Kor Haven and Island of Wak-Wak too! Tawnos'Coffin goes a long way as well. It can lock up pesky generals pretty nicely.


Howling Mine/Font of Mythos/Timetwister/Time Spiral/Wheel of Fortune
Giving everyone card advantage! Be careful with draw 7's though, if you trash good hands, or if you Relic of Progenitus  graveyard before a Timetwister, you will get hurt.

Kami of the Crescent Moon
I love Kami of the Crescent Moon as a general in multiplayer. It's cheap and everybody lets it live It's also a 1/3 body so it can block early on. If you block it to death, the attacked will be punished by the others for taking their howling mine effect away.

Punishing Fire/Grove of the Burnwillows
This can help you 'sell' shocks every turn. Don't just burn everything in sight, but sell them off. If you start burning every creature on the table they will focus you so they can play their creatures without your pesky recurring removal. Use it as a 'favor'. The life gain on grove of the burnwillows is especially useful. It can save one of the other players. They will be grateful and do as you please. If they don't they will feel the wrath of your Punishing Fire and die.